CIVITAS Awards 2018

Awards2018

Eight European towns and cities have been revealed as the recipients of the CIVITAS Awards 2018. The announcements were made in a lavish ceremony that concluded the second day of the CIVITAS Forum 2018 in Umeå, Sweden.

The select group were recognised for ambitious, innovative and transformative sustainable urban mobility work in four categories. Three prizes were chosen by a five-person jury of mobility experts, public officials and media, and the fourth by the CIVITAS Political Advisory Committee.

Ghent has created Traffic Management as a Service (TMaaS), a modular platform that collects urban mobility data from stakeholders and service providers and displays them on a single dashboard. Developed together with the government, industry and universities, the concept is ideal for future traffic centres in small- and medium-sized cities. As a cloud-based platform, no major hardware investments are required. Besides visualisation, TMaaS can interpret the mobility data fed into it via user-defined criteria, whilst operators can also set their own alerts.

Runners-up: Aachen (Germany); Vinnytsia (Ukraine)

Aachen has introduced a new electric car fleet for use by city employees on business trips. Via a local car-sharing provider, residents can use them at weekends and in off-peak hours. Furthermore, the city subsidies a “job ticket” for PT. Ticketing and booking journeys on PT is also integrated: all trips can be paid for using one card and booked through a single platform.

Vinnytsia upgraded its tram fleet by renovating older vehicles, creating new “WinWay” trams. They include free WiFi, a new information display system, and use 40% less electricity than the current model. Such renovations cost five times less than buying new equivalent models.

Szeged has taken part in several EU projects, is National Network Manager of the Magyar CIVINET Network, and is active in the CIVITAS Political Advisory Committee. Over the past 15 years, it has implemented varied mobility solutions, including establishing traffic calming zones; improving cycling infrastructure; creating new bus lines; expanding and reconstructing its tram and trolleybus network; and contactless payment for public transport tickets. It has also held public events for SUMP development and neighbourhood regeneration projects.

Runner-up: Izmir (Turkey)

Izmir has built over 400 intelligent intersections and is implementing fully adaptive intersection management that sees priority given to public transport and emergency vehicle. Guidance is provided to hospitals and pharmacies throughout the city, which shortens journey times in emergency situations.

Reggio Emilia (Italy) has long been a forerunner in school mobility management. It has created home-school journeys that are safe and sustainable and see children playing an active role in conceiving them. This has been achieved through targeted policy and an interdisciplinary approach integrating planning for public areas with educational initiatives and managing mobility demand. Creating the position of School Mobility Managers has also proved crucial. In October 2017, six cities from six different countries visited Reggio Emilia as part of a CIVITAS-organised study visit, including Kruševac (Serbia) and Leon (Spain). As a result of the visit, the two cities have introduced School Mobility Managers in schools.

Banja Luka is the only city in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a bike rental system and sole city in the country with public electric vehicle chargers. Beside this, the city has implemented a no parking zone and created the mobile app “Bl Bus” that display schedules and real-time information for users. The reconstruction of a pedestrian zone and an initiative to pedestrianise a city centre street during the summer have vastly improved public spaces. The combined positive impact of these measures has transformed the city’s character and image.

Runner-up: Tirana, Albania

Tirana has turned its central square from a roundabout into a pedestrian area, making it the main space for public life. Cycling has been encouraged through new bike lanes, a dockless bike sharing system and car-free days. An online platform and mobile app also give real-time information on traffic volume, the city’s transport network, and parking payment. With child-friendly policies embedded into Tirana’s urban development, the city is being planned for future generations.